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Two spoons, one with homemade yellow curry paste and the other with store bought.

Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Learn about homemade versus store bought Thai yellow curry paste. There's even a vegan option so there's no reason for anyone to miss out.
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Course: Homemade Sauces
Cuisine: thai
Keyword: Thai Yellow Curry Paste
Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

  • 8 dried red chiles, seeded and broken (or 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (or 1 tablespoon ground coriander)
  • 2 teaspoon cumin seeds (or 2 teaspoon ground cumin)
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns (or 1 teaspoon ground black pepper)
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 Tbsp)
  • 4 shallots, minced (¼ cup)
  • 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, minced (or 2 tablespoon frozen minced lemongrass)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro stems
  • 1½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground galangal (or 1 teaspoon fresh ginger)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon shrimp paste (or 2 teaspoon anchovy paste)
  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

  • Grind chiles, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black peppercorns to a fine powder in a spice grinder.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and process to as fine a paste as possible.
  • Store yellow curry paste in the fridge for up to 3 months. Can be frozen.

Notes

Gluten free curry paste is available but sometimes (or some foodies) want to make it from scratch. In my Gourmet Dinner Club we used to make everything from scratch. Over time more ingredients became available but I wanted to share this recipe that was new and exciting when I was first introduced to Thai cuisine at home.
Dinner Club Tips - If you can share less common ingredients with like minded friends so they don't sit in your cupboard forever. I share spices with my two sisters all the time.